Birdman is a new Southern-inspired fried chicken focused spot in Victoria which opened up a few months ago by Cottage Hospitality Group, the team behind Wind Cries Mary and Rudi. The idea was inspired by Wind Cries Mary’s late-night fried chicken menu and eventually became Birdman’s restaurant concept at 537 Johnson Street.
I visited Birdman for a media tasting, and there was no shortage of fried food on our table.
The menu is centred on fried chicken, with bone-in pieces, chicken strips and wings available wet or dry. There are fried and freshly shucked oysters, sandwiches, hushpuppies, steak tartare, devilled eggs and a few larger options for sharing. Sides include waffle fries, mac and cheese, cucumber salad, potato salad, biscuits and cornbread, with several house-made dips available.
We tried the Bone-in Chicken Thighs, which had a crunchy coating and juicy meat inside.
The Chicken Strips were tender with a crispy coating and came with golden Waffle Fries.
The Lemon Pepper Wings came wet style, covered in a tangy, peppery sauce which became a delicious mess.
There were three dips for the chicken: honey dill, jalapeño ranch and Old Bay aioli. The honey dill was sweeter, the jalapeño ranch was creamy with a little heat, and the Old Bay aioli had the most seasoning.
One of my favourite items was the Jalapeño Cheddar Hushpuppies with house-made honey butter. They arrived warm and had some sweetness from the cornmeal and honey butter, followed by cheddar and jalapeño.
The Cucumber Dill Salad was cool and crisp. It was nice to have between bites of chicken. We also enjoyoed the Steak Tartare with house-made tortilla chips.
The Fried Oysters were topped with honey, dill, hot sauce and caviar. There was sweetness from the honey, some heat from the hot sauce and a salty finish from the caviar.
Birdman has a fun retro diner look with lots of red, chrome and exposed brick. The bar is lined with round chrome stools, and the large light above it is covered with stickers, notes and little pieces of artwork.
The dining area has red tables, black vinyl chairs and a large brick fireplace. You can still see the old beams and brickwork throughout the room. There is a small patio at the back too.
We also had the Birdman Daiquiri, made with light rum, lime, jalapeño and pineapple. It was fruity and tart with a little heat from the jalapeño.
Birdman
537 Johnson Street
Victoria, BC
